Dear Journal

My girls are already excellent journal keepers. They insist on going over their day every night before bed. It's become part of our bedtime routine, and it's one I really enjoy because I get to hear their side of things. Many times they've interpreted a situation in a way I'd never have thought of. In some cases, it allows me to gently correct them, like, "no, mommy did not tell you no because you were a little kid. She told you no because touching the stove is dangerous." In that way, I think it's really helpful to reinforce important lessons.

I also get to see what they like the best each day, which activities are their favorites and which events stick out in their brains. For instance, the fact that Dulce didn't finish her cookie yesterday and that her balloon popped totally eclipsed buying ingredients for Daddy's birthday cake, which, to me, was what the trip was all about.

This oral journal has another twist. It's always told through a third-person character. A little stuffed Toadstool from Mario, to be exact. He's the child. A stuffed Superman and Supergirl doll are the parents.

 Each night, Toadstool goes through magical adventures that mirror everything the twins did that day. If we went grocery shops, he goes grocery shopping. If we chased squirrels, he chases squirrels. Along the way, he tells us how he felt about each tiny occurrence in his life that day.

Another benefit of this is that it forces me to continue to give them new experiences and take them out each day. I wouldn't want Toadstool not to have a story one night, would I?

I love this ritual. Toadstool is often inappropriate and the girls step in and show him how they learned to do things in the kind, caring way, or they'll call for my husband (or Superman) to reprimand Toadstool.

One of Toadstool's main characteristics is his selfish and greedy nature. He eats all the food, drinks all the milk and wants all the turns. He is the best and worst of my children all rolled into one stuffed animal with a rather large head.

Other than reading, it's one of their best activities, I'd say, to keep their little brains sharp and working.